Innocence
by Raevyn Lolliette
Summary: Zero is depressed after Yuki leaves to become Kaname Kuran's lover. What happens when Headmaster brings a small innocent violet-eyed girl home who has suffered nearly the same fate? Will Zero be able to let go of the past and let love bloom? RnR please!
1. Chapter 1

Life...What is it really? Some seem to think that people are life. I on the other hand think that we are just pawns, existing in the gravitationless flow of possiblities and time. No one person can affect the onset of the universe, so we simply exist. There is no life...where I am. There is no love or comfort or lust or happiness. There is just pain, sorrow, and the onset movement of going foward everyday, because I have to. I have no purpose. I have no reality. I just move from one place to another, seeking what I can never have. That is my reality, I suppose...Realizing I have nothing to look forward to or to look back on.

I've wandered pretty much all of my life. Well, since my vampire hunting parents died in a freak incident with a pureblood vampire named Shizuka Hio. I was seven. I barely remember... It didn't occur to me until later that I should seek revenge on this pureblood...but I cannot bring myself to hate anybody but my own being. It's sad, to say the very least, that I cannot hate the beast that tore my life to shreds and left me to burn in it's wake. I wish I could...so that I can have some passion about life. But it seems as if it'll never be. It has been at least nine years, since then...And I have never befriended another soul. I am so numb on the inside that it would probably be impossible to do befriend anyone...

So I walk endlessly in the rain, with no umbrella. My pack of small things on my back doesn't weigh me down a bit, I am so used to it. The road in front of me is one that the public hasn't used in a while, from what I can tell with the way the weeds bend over it and such. My footsteps make squishing sounds as they meld with the mud, before I pick them up and make another crater in the ground in front of it. A house comes into my view seemingly out of nowhere. It's a tiny shack, brown, two windows, ivy growing over it, and a barn to the side. But I begin to sense somthing abnormal about it. Something out of the ordinary...I walk up to it slowly and suddenly I sense it in the shadows with the sixth sense a vampire hunter is born with.

"You're a vampire hunter, aren't you...?" I asked the shadow slowly. A man with blonde hair pulled into two pig tails stepped out of the dark shadows. He was taller than me, of medium heighth, and wore glasses that framed bright blue, playful eyes. His coat was of a multicolored fur, and his hat was of the same.

"It seems so...as you are one as well?" he asked me being completely serious.

"Maybe..." I stepped back a little and tensed myself prepared for a strike in case it would come.

"Be calm, girl...I mean you no harm..." he told me, walking closer slowly. I said nothing as I took another step back. He halted with a concerned expression on his face.

"We are the same. I will not hurt you." he promised me softly keeping eye contact as he began to near me again. His lips parted in a friendly smile that oddly enough put my entire body at ease.

"Good..." his smile broadened when I let him touch my shoulder.

"What's your name, little one?" he asked me tilting his head a little in curiosity.

"U-Um..." I studdered for a moment, not used to people paying any attention to me, a homeless little girl, "R-Raehime Kaguya..." I finally sputtered it out and his eyes darkened in sympathy.

"The last of the Kaguya clan..." he sighed for a moment, patting my shoulder and keeping eye contact with me. "I am Kaien Cross. I am an ex-legal vampire hunter." he told me, "Please Miss Kaguya, come inside." I let him take my hand and lead me inside.

Inside the house was beautiful. Olden-timish with wooden ceilings and floors, and furniture of the same color decorated the room. He sat me down on the couch and handed me a cup of brown liquid that I vaguely remembered to be known as tea. He positioned himself on the couch across from me and drank from his own glass.

"How long have you been alone, Miss Kaguya?" he asked me curiously.

"Um...since I was seven...after the incident." I told him honestly sipping some of my tea. He smiled, obviously curious with my past.

"Why didn't someone take you in before now? I mean, your clan was up there amongst the best, racing head to head with the Kiryu's. I don't see why you weren't snatched up immediately..." he scratched his chin and his eyes became distant. I shrugged, knowledgelessly. "How about your training?" he offered.

"Um...well, I never got to finish it or my schooling..." I told him embarasedly as my attention flickered out the window to the darkening sky.

"Ah..." he nodded, "I see..." I stood up promptly and grabbed my pack.

"Sorry, Mister Cross...But if I don't get going soon, I won't find a place to camp tonight..." I informed him, "Thankyou for the tea, though." I began to make my way to the door when he called out to me again.

"Raehime-san! Wait! I wasn't finished!" he grabbed my arm gently to stop me. I turned around to face him.

"What is it then...?" I asked him as my nerves frayed a little more and I began to fidget.

"See, I'm the headmaster of a school called Cross Academy and I need a vampire hunter to help me with the diciplinary comittee. And it's so odd that I found you when I did. It can't be a coincidence, Raehime-san!" he said in a hurried ramble, his face purple as he tried to wheeze it out without breathing.

"So you want me to help you...?" I asked.

"Yes, please!" he nodded furiously, "In exchange, I'll provide you with rooming, boarding, clothes, food, and anything else you want."

"But what about my schooling? I never finished the third grade..." I reminded him rationally.

"I have a year to train you. The school was attacked by a bunch of vampires and is still under repair, I'm afraid..." he sighed, his voice taking on a distressed pitch for merely a moment before switching back to his cheerful one.

"So you'll train me and everything, just if I help out?" I asked making sure that I heard what he had told me correctly.

"Yes!" he nodded again.

"Okay..." I told him slowly.

"You will?" He grinned widely.

"Yes..." I nodded, "It's not everyday that someone you walk by offers you somewhere to live..."

"OH THANKYOU!" Before I knew it, he had thrown his arms around me hugging me tightly, "You are such an ANGEL!" I tensed up, unknowing of what to do. It had been a long time since someone had hugged me. He jumped off and smiled triumphantly.

"This is so perfect!" he sighed happily, "Okay! First things first! Let's get you cleaned up and get you some clothes!" He ran into a room and came out with a black box. He handed it to me with a grin. "That looks to be about your size," he told me as I took it. I opened it up and there was a black pleated skirt inside, with a white longsleeved top, a black jacket with intricate handywork on it, shoes, stockings that were long enough to stretch up my legs to my mid-thigh and a red necktie.

"Um...thankyou, Cross-sama..." I bowed respectfully and traditionally.

"You're welcome! It's the least I can do!" he beamed, his entire aura changed and his countenance overjoyed. I went into the bathroom and luckily it was oldish-styled so I knew how to work it. I scrubbed my entire body until I smelled like the musk of the shampoo. Seeing a towel, I grabbed it and pulled it around my body as I stepped out. For the first time in nine years, I looked in the mirror at my appearance. Wide violet eyes that were framed with thick lashes greeted me, and light silverish-white shaggy hair ran down to my waist. I had pale, smooth skin and I was filled out completely. I was acutally sort of pretty...well... prettier that I thought I was...It had been so many years...and I had changed so much that I found it hard to keep from staring at myself. I reached into the black box and pulled out the shirt, the skirt, and the stockings. The skirt and shirt fit me perfectly, as did the stockings and the shoes, but that's all I tried on at the time. I walked without the shoes on through the house after I got them on.

"Thankyou, Cross-sama..." I bowed again. He grinned as he looked at me, then his gaze shifted to my long wet hair. He pulled a chair up and patted it.

"Come sit here, Raehime-chan, I'll fix your hair for you." he grinned. I did as I was told, sitting down on the small wooden chair. Cross wrapped a long towel around my shoulders and began rubbing white conditioning liquid into my long wet strands. He combed it gently, removing all the tangles. My bangs were nearly unsaveable, though. Then he brought out the scissors and began to cut my hair. About five inches of hair, was taken from the bottom, and he cut bangs from the mess. Then he layered my hair, sculpting it like a professional to be perfect. When he was finished, he blowdryed it and then stepped back with a smile. A mirror came in front of my face, and I looked. Soft, silky, shiny, perfect, white, waist length, beautiful hair rolled gently down from my head.

"It's so pretty, Cross-sama...thankyou..." I smiled at him as I stood up.

"Ooh! One more thing!" he said as he reached behind himself and handed me a black headband. He put it on and fixed my hair around it then let me look again. It was really cute and adorable and I felt better than I had in years.

"Alrighty! Tonight, you get settled, tomorrow, you start school! Ehee!" he was so happy and attentive, that I couldn't stop the soft smile that spread across my face.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Ooh! I wonder who that is..." he walked into the next room. I heard the door squeak open then, "OH! KIRYU-KUN! Why didn't you tell me you were stopping by? Are you hurt? There's blood all over your shirt...Come in and Daddy will fix yooou!", followed by a loud thunk sound. "Geez, Kiryu, you can be a little nicer to your foster father!" I sensed something abnormal in the next room and I walked slowly to see what it was. There by the open door, standing over Cross-sama, was a boy, a little older then me, tall, had pale skin, had light purple eyes, silverish-white hair and the depth of his eyes told me that he had had a horrible past as well. He was very handsome, indeed, but it was then that the aura hit me.

"Vampire..." I drawled in a monotonus hiss. I grabbed the nearest object and took off running up to him about to hit him with it when I suddenly found myself pinned against the wall. The was the boy glaring down at me intensely.

"Raehime! No!" Cross-sama pushed the boy off of me and pulled me to my feet.

"But he attacked you, Cross-sama..." I told him angrily, "I thought I was helping..." He shook his head sharply.

"No, Raehime-san, Kiryu's a friend." he scolded me.

"Sorry, Cross-sama. Sorry,...um..."

"Zero..." the boy offered grudgingly.

"Zero..." I repeated, "Sorry, Zero..." He heaved a big sigh.

"Whatever...I'm used to it..." he pushed past me. Cross-sama ran into the other room and came out with peroxide, a rag, and bandages.

"Um...Raehime-chan? Do you know how to dress a wound?" he asked me.

"Yes...how do you think I've kept from getting an infection for so many years?" I shrugged.

"Good!" he smiled, "Kiryu hates it when I try to dress his wounds. Maybe he'll let you..." He skipped off as he handed me the supplies. I sighed. I was going to have to bandage a vampire. I walked slowly into the next room and sat on the table facing Zero.

"What is it?" he growled.

"Cross-sama sent me to dress your wounds..." I told him monotonously. "Well then go tell him that I don't need it..." he told me flippantly.

"No." I glared back, "He gave me a job and I intend to do it...though if I were on my own, I would choose not to do so..." He narrowed his eyes.

"Then why are you doing it?" he raised his voice.

"Because, Cross-sama has taken me in when I've had no home. I've had no home for nine years since the incident." I told him, "So are we gonna reminice about the past or are you gonna let me clean your wounds? Or do I have to make it a forced issue?"

"Go away..." he sighed. I glared intensely at him. "Alright, you made your choice..." I stood up and sat on his lap, locking my legs around his knees. I used the arm area between my wrist and elbow to keep his shoulders at bay, and the other arm to begin ripping at his shirt. I was trying to be gentle, but soon he started struggling and I had to be a bit rougher.

"What the hell?" He pushed at me with what he could use of his arms. Remembering the pressure points from my self-defense class I graduated before the incident. I jabbed them one at a time until he was limp beneath me. He growled and tried to struggle while I pulled his shirt off of him.

"Stop it!" Zero glared at me so hard that I might've been incinerated if looks could kill.

"I warned you..." I told him monotonous tone. With a sigh I looked over the wound on his chest. It was definately a day or two old, with dried blood covering it and infection was starting to set up. The wound stretched diagonal from his chest to his hip.

"Cross-sama..." I called into the other room.

"Yes?" he appeared by the door. When he saw how Zero was just laying there limply with an angry expression on his face he snickered softly at the vampires expense.

"Giving in so easily, eh Kiryu? Daddy's surprised at you." Cross-sama smiled, amusement evident in his sapphire eyes.

"I didn't "give in"..." Zero growled unable to turn his head in the other direction to avoid Cross-sama's amused stare.

"So, Raehime...How were you able to incapacitate him?" Cross-sama asked curiously. "It was simple...apply pressure to the pressure points so he is unable to move. Then dress his wounds." I told him and he looked like he was going to crack up at any moment.

"Now what was it you needed, Raehime-chan?" he asked. "A bowl with water and another rag." I nodded at him.

"Of course!" he brought it out right away and stood over me as I dipped the rag in hot water. I pressed the warm rag to his wound and his limp body arched and a hiss excaped his thin, pale lips.

"Sorry...I'm trying to be gentle..." I told him in the same toneless way.

"Whatever..." his voice sounded strained. I finally got all the puss off and the dried blood off, and I poured the peroxide on it earning another hiss from my patient. Then I dotted his wound with the towel to dry it a little. Then I had Cross-sama to hold him up while I wrapped the bandage around his torso. I took ahold of Zero and laid him gently back on the -sama ran into the other room and came back with a white shirt.

"See, now? It wasn't that bad, was it?" I asked with a raised eyebrow as I jabbed another pressure point in his stomach, releasing his muscles to move again. I got off and he sat up slowly, rotating his arm. Then he grabbed his shirt and slung it on and buttoned it.

"Sorry I had to be harsh with you, but I did warn you, therefore you deserved the concequeces that followed thereafter." I nodded as I walked off. I could feel his icy glare at my back.

"Whatever..." he sighed as he turned follow Cross-sama.

"Oh Dear! Hee! Hee! I don't think that I've ever seen anybody pin you down, Kiryu! I think she's got you beat! Hee! Hee!" Cross-sama giggled. I heard Zero growl as he followed Cross-sama, and myself into the kitchen where Cross-sama was fixing food. He finished it, put it on plates, brought drinks, and napkins.

"Come sit down, you two! It's ready!" Cross-sama called to us. We walked in and he refused to look my way. I figured that he was still angry with me. "Eat up! Daddy's worked so hard to make it for you!" Cross-sama smiled. Zero glared at him, I smiled and took my first bite of a homecooked meal in years. It was so delicious and delightful! I must have had an elated look on my face because Zero's lavender eyes snapped over to mine and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey Headmaster, how long's it been since Skinny here, ate?" he asked him and I sent the boy the hardest glare I could muster.

"Don't be rude, Kiryu! She's new here! Be nice!" Cross-sama crossed his long arms against his apron.

"It's been about nine years since I ate a homecooked meal..." I spoke unexpectedly, "Thankyou, Cross-sama..." He grinned and swirled around.

"Awwwww! My little Raehime love my cooking! Yay! Someone greatful for my service!" I could swear that I saw sparkles around him.

"You brought in a homeless bum. She's gonna love it." He said matter of factly. I glared at him and stood up smacking my hands on the table.

"It's not like I wanted to be homeless, you Jerk!" I growled at him.

"Then who's decision was it?" he smirked at me. I felt fury rise in my veins.

"Your kind's" I clenched my fist at my sides as he stood up too. He walked around the table to stare down at me, smirking.

"What? Did we repo your house or something?" He added. I grabbed his collar and pulled him down to my level.

"Zero...Raehime...I think you should-"

"You wanna take this outside, vampire?" I ignored Cross-sama and cocked my head at Zero.

"If you think you can handle it, you little bum..." his lavender eyes were so filled with hate that it was unbelievable that it was directed at me.

"Now guys, this doesn't seem like a good idea..." Cross-sama tried to stop it as I grabbed Zero's shirt-tail and drug him outside. "KIRYU! KAGUYA! I DEMAND YOU STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" Cross-sama finally got angry and jumped between us.

"Wait. Did you just say her name was Kaguya?" was the last that I heard before I felt a sharp pain in my neck and the world went black.

I've always told myself, that complaining never helps. So complaining about the horrible headache that I was experiencing at the moment would not make it go away. Opening my eyes, I saw the room I was in resembled closely the outside of the shack that I had seen the day that I passed from consiousness. Brown and made of wood. I tried to sit up and stretch but found that my movement was restricted to that of my head. I was tied to a chair sitting up. A new wave of pain passed through the thick membrane, sending an automatic grunt from my lips.

"So you're finally awake..." the male voice from before called out to me.

"Yeah...What happened?" I asked him. "Headmaster locked us in here after knocking us out after our fight last night.

"..." I said nothing as I tried to get the pain to stop. "...Since when are you talking to me?" I asked after a while.

"You're a Kaguya right?" he said.

"Yes, but that has nothing to do with my question..." I rolled my eyes.

"Then...I'm sorry I said what I said..." My wide violet eyes snapped up to meet his lavender ones.

"Huh?" I grunted dumbly.

"I know what happened to you...the same happened to me...by the same person..." He told me grudgingly, "So what I said was wrong...I don't say this to many people...but you deserve it...What happened to your family, happened because of mine..." I couldn't believe my ears. My shocked expression soon turned into a smile.

"And here I was thinking you were just some vampire punk." I smirked at him, "It seems like you may have a soul after all..." He rolled his eyes at me. "So you're the only remaining twin, Zero Kiryu?" I asked him after I decided that he wasn't about to give me an intelligent response.

"Yeah..." he sighed, "I'm a halfie. Vampire "slash" Vampire hunter..." He told me and I nodded before grinning.

"You freak..." I said as his eyes met my own.

"Excuse me?" he answered albeit a little defensively.

"You're a freak of nature..." His eyes narrowed perceptively at me. He must have realized that I was teasing him, because he just shook his head and sighed.

"You're not very talkative, are you?" I inquired, as a strange joy swept over me at his reactions. It would only be later that I would realized that it was because I was interacting positively with another person, even though that person was a vampire. Though he couldn't have been all that bad, because it seemed so easy to forget that he had a monster's blood inside of him. He also seemed to sense my change in attitude about him, because suddenly his countenance lightened as well. Not enough to say he was anything similar to happy, but more towards being amused.

"No...I only talked to you because I felt that I owed you an apology." he told me as he turned his head to look out of the nearby window.

"Oh..." I shrugged the best I could, though the ropes restrained my movement. After a long moment, I spoke again. "Hey...Zero...?"

"What is it?" he asked not turning to even speak slightly in my direction.

"I would rather not be your enemy. Completely that is...I mean...after all, we will be working together...So could we call a temporary truce?" I asked curious to his response. To my ultimate surprise, he turned to me and nodded.

"I suppose that would make things easier..." he said before turning to his window once more.

"Good," I agreed before leaning my head back on the chair, my raging headache from earlier now suddenly gone.

Author's note:

_**Hello all of you! I hope you all enjoyed this chappy of Innocence^^. If you liked it, please review^^. I'm open to constructive critisism so feel free to say whatever you like^^. Please keep in mind, that I wrote this my sophmore year. It's now like three years later btw and I'm just getting to post it v.v...lolz^^.If I get enough reviews then I'll do a chapter 2. Until then, I'll hopefully see you later! **_

_**~Crimson-Stained Cherry Blossom~**_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

For the next eight months, I was schooled, as Cross-sama tried to fatten me up so that I could train. When he first saw my ribs, he was so concerned that he cooked a huge dinner and made me eat every single morsel even though I was sure I was about to bust. But, in the end, it worked; I was beginning to fill out. Zero would help out some too, but only on rare occasions when he was in a good mood; which it didn't take me long to find out, didn't come too often.

Cross-sama became a father-like figure to me, always watching over me, making sure I felt welcome, making sure I ate, etc. One night, I even awoke to find him putting a blanket over me, as I had fallen asleep on the couch. I was so overcome with joy that I wept when I was sure he was gone.

After our "tied up sitiation", Zero had stayed distant, and had remained gone a lot. He's very serious about his Vampire Hunter duties. But about four months ago, the Vampire Hunter Council decided that Zero should take some time off, and it wasn't long before the silver-haired boy stayed around the house, sulking like a child whose candy had been taken away.

For the first few weeks we bickered endlessly and nearly drove poor Cross-sama to the Insane Assylum. Luckily, not long after we realized it would probably be a while before we were separated so sparingly again, we decided the world would be a happier place, Cross-sama would be sane, and that the cottage would need far less repairs if we at least tried to get along. Surprisingly, during the time that we were forcing ourselves to get along, that I realized how alike we were, and came to conclude that's why we fought so much. Of course when I voiced this thought to my silver-haired companion, I was called a stupid little girl and broke down the front door with Zero's body.

It took me a while of fuming over what had happened to comprehend just how unverbal Zero was, and that just the fact that he talked to me at all, and in the manner that he did meant that he was beginning to warm up to me. I raised myself by myself, so it was understandable that I was severely lacking in a few social skills. Of course, I was too proud to admit my mistake, but he seemed to understand. So in the end, I let myself grow more attached to his existence. Vampire or not, he was the only friend that I had ever really made.

As I grew more attached, I found out he was a really good cook, and an excellent teacher. Then, one day it struck me, the bubbly feeling that I had when I was around Cross-sama or Zero was pure and simple joy. I was happy; Happier than I'd been in a long time, at least. I began to notice that I had tone to my voice, I laughed some, and I felt free to express emotion and to feel loved.

Zero had become my constant companion. He was the someone I wanted to hang out with when I was lonely or the person I called on when I didn't understand something in my book and Cross-sama was frustrated with me. Luckily for me though, my study time flew by quickly as Cross-sama was itching to start my training.

"So...you multiply this by this and divide it by this to get that?" I asked Zero pointing at each with my pencil.

"Yes..." he nodded in approval; and expression I don't get so often.

"I did it? Sweet!" I smiled before punching my fist in the air anime style.

"Yay..." He replied in monotone, his voice conveying nothing but boredom, "Now you're at our grade level." He sighed softly as be began to collect my papers and rolled his eyes at me as I jumped out of my seat jumped around the room; happy of my accomplishment.

"Alright..." he muttered as he watched my jumpy happy dance from across the room, "Either you're entirely too happy, or you really have to pee...I don't care which, but please go take the time to fix them." He folded his arms on the table and buried his face in them with a sigh.

"I can't help being happy about it!" I told him with a grin as I sat down in the seat beside his once more. He grunted softly, the sound muffled by his sleeve, but didn't say anything more. I sat there in silence until I began to fidget out of extreme boredom.

"Sooooooo..." I poked Zero's arm, "I was wondering...I know you're a vampire...but I've never seen you drink blood. What's up with that?" I asked trying to get a conversation started because of my genuine boredness.

At this he sat up and glared at me, lavender eyes piercing my soul, almost. "Blood tablets..." he told me, the restrained anger promenient in his voice.

"Yeesh. Don't glare at me like that. I was just asking..." I told him as I leaned my elbows onto the table,"...So you don't drink blood?"

"No...Unlike most, I don't want to be a blood-sucking mongrel..." he growled menacingly at me. At this, I laughed heartily at him.

"You don't scare me, bub. And you just called yourself a puppy." I tapped his nose, sending a semi-surprised look across his face before it settled back to his usual scowl; his eyes showing a slight bit of amusement, probably directed at the the fact that he had in fact called himself a dog.

"You are so wierd..." he sighed, a smirk trying to work it's way to his lips.

"I know..." I beamed at him with a laugh as I got up and put the books back on the shelf, "So when do you think Cross-sama will begin my hunter training?" He shrugged slightly his lean shoulders bunching at the act.

"I don't know. Didn't ask. But, I'd better warn you, being a hunter isn't as easy as it looks." he grabbed the plates we ate on and followed me to the kitchen.

"Wow...it looks hard. So I wonder how tough it really is." I grinned over my shoulder before seriously stating, "And anyways, I've already started my training, but I just didn't finish it." I dumped the dishes in the sink and dusted my hands off on my pants.

"Yeah, yeah...I know..." he grunted pushing his short silver hair from his eyes. As soon as his hand dropped back to his side, the door bursted open, catching mine and Zero's attention immediately. We both walked towards the door; our bodies tense: our guard up. But we hadn't even gotten the door in view before we heard a familiar voice, confirming his arrival.

"Kiryu! Raehime! I'm back from the store and I've got greeeaaaat news!" Cross-sama called to us from the living room.

"What is it Cross-sama?" Zero and I appeared at the door. I immediately took the heavy load of bags from him and Zero took some of them from me.

"Well, the first good news is that we can start your hunter training today, Raehime-chan!Heehee!" he grinned at me grabbing my shoulders.

"That's great, Cross-sama." I smiled as I sat the stuff on the counter and began to unbag it.

"What else is there?" Zero asked, crossing his arms after unloading his.

"Well, good news number two is that we're gonna have the school up soon so we're moving back there." He threw his arms up in joy and Zero sweatdropped.

"Okay..." I shrugged, placing the bags under the counter.

"And good news number three?" Zero yawned as he stretched like a cat.

"Actually it depends on how you two take this, if it's good news or bad news..." his grin faltered a little, "Um...I'm gonna be gone a lot , so what time you're not helping us move, you two will be training together..." The last part was told sheepishly. I looked up at Zero who had a placid look on his pale face.

"Umm...He doesn't have to..." I offered, then jokingly I added, "I mean, c'mon! The prey teaching a hunter how to hunt? It's sorta an oxymoron, right?" Cross-sama laughed at this, his blue eyes twinkling in delight.

"I suppose it doesn't make much sense when you put it that way..." he smiled ruffling my long white hair, "Clever girl." I beamed in pride at his approval.

"But seeing as I am the vampire, what better way to train, than with a vampire that knows a vampire's weak points?" Zero offered, his face nonplussed and his voice monotone. A stunned silence passed as we watched Zero; our eyes wide.

"Wow...I-...I didn't think about it that way, either..." Cross-sama marvled at the lilac eyed boy.

"That was deep..." I agreed with him, my thin white eyebrow raised, then I continued a playful smile on my face, "Gosh Zero. Stop making me look stupid." Zero rolled his eyes before looking horrified like at Cross-sama.

"What?" I asked, concerned, but when I looked, I was taken aback as well. Cross-sama hd his hands pressed to his face, sparkles seemed to shine from his eyes, and they were brimming with happy tears. I smirked inwardly. This was his glomp face.

"Kiryuu-kun is smart! Daddy is so proud!" he yelled pouncing on the poor boy like a neglected cat. Zero cried out horror and tried to crawl away from him, but to no avail. "Daddy" was not about to let go.

"Get offa me!" Zero growled at Cross-sama, his face contorted in rage. At this point I could not restrain my laughter any longer.

"But...! But...! Daddy is so PROUD!" he hugged him harder and Zero's face revealed that his ribcage was about to be crushed.

After a few more minutes, I finally stopped laughing long enough to pry Cross-sama from Zero, who's face showed me unadulterated grattitude. Eventually the atmosphere calmed once more.

"So...Will you help please, Zero? I know it's a lot to ask, but I really need your help...I promise I'll give you the thing you've been wanting lately after this is all over..." Cross-sama offered him dusting his pants off.

"You'll finally kill me?" I thought he was joking, but when I looked at his face, he looked completely serious. The smile on Cross-sama's face dissapeared as my heart skipped a beat.

"No...I meant to let you be and not ask you for things all the time...I thought that bothered you..." The look on Cross-sama's face turned concerned.

"Well, that too..." he sighed pushing his pale hand through his silver hair, "I'm goin to bed. Night..." He sighed as he walked off, removing his jacket as he went.

"Z-Zero-kun...?" I called out in confusion.

"Just let him be..." Cross-sama grabbed my shoulders and led me away, "He's just...had a bad past and it's hard for him to handle happy, energetic situations." He patted my shoulder as I turned to look at Zero's closed bedroom door.

"B-but I've never heard him talk like that before..." I told Cross-sama, my eyes wide. "Usually he's so nonverbal...I just thought he was uncomfortable expressing his emotions...I never thought he was suicidal..." I felt overwhelemed by guilt for not noticing.

"Don't fret, Raehime-chan. He's always been like that. But usually, it's a lot worse. He's been better since you've come around." He smiled softly down at me.

"Better?" I stared up at him, confused.

"Yes. It's like he was when he was with Yuki." He mumbled softly to himself, his eyes wide as if figuring something out.

"What is it, Cross-sama? And who's Yuki?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"That's a story for a later date, my dear." he said softly, his eyes reflecting something akin to pain. But before I could confirm it, it seemed to dissapear from his eyes as he smiled cheerfully. "Now then, it's late. How about we get in bed so we can have an early start tomorrow?"

"O-Okay..." I nodded slowly, still shaken, as I headed for the bathroom.

Zero's POV

Traveling through tunnels by yourself is depressing...But I walked on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on through them anyways. A loud noise sounded to my left, and I ran to it's source, hoping for something besides more of these underearth caverns there. Much to my dissapointment, there were more. It was hard to see in the dark, but luckily I had enough vampire in me to make out the bare minimum of the outline of my surroundings. As I kept walking I started to hear a thick disturbing slurping noise. My heart stopped in fear. I knew that noise. A vampire was feeding on his prey.

I ran as fast as I could towards the noise, slipping and sliding in the damp caverns. The noise grew louder and louder and as it did, I released my faithful compainion, the Bloody Rose gun, from it's holster. I reached the end of the cavern I was in and in a small ray of light, I saw the outline of two figures that were slouched over. As my eyes adjusted to the new light I was able to make out the two. One was a reddish brown haired woman and the other, a taller blackish-brown-haired man.

They turned around when they heard me coming, and I stopped in dead my tracks in absoulute surprise. There before me was the girl who haunts my happier points of my past. Yuki, the newly pureblood vampire. Beside her was her lover, the pure blood vampire, Kaname. Blood dripped from their lips, and the smell hit my starved body hard.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" I asked them my face burning in hate for the two.

"Zero...It's been such a long time..." she tilted her head at me as her eyes glowed red with bloodlust.

"Yuki, what are you doing?" I asked her dazedly, as she and her lover stepped away from their prey, "I told you the next time I saw you that I'd kill you and your lover." I raised the Bloody Rose at them and removed the safety.

"Foolish Boy." Kaname sighed, "You take too many things for granted."

"Such as?" I growled at him wanting to pull that trigger for all I was worth.

"Me letting you live after all the times you've pointed that gun at me." He growled pushing the tip of it away, "Do not pull a weapon on me, unless you are prepared to use it, rightfully, boy." A bang was heard outside and suddenly he and Yuki took off running, leaving their victim behind. I was about to follow when a white tuff of hair caught my attention. I walked over and My heart flew up in my throat, my breathing stopped for a moment before continuing in erratic puffs, my throat threatening to close up.

"R-R-Raehime..." I studdered before my two years of medical training kicked in. I checked for breath, and I was relieved a little that it was there. Slow and faint, but it was there. I immediately took off my shirt and pressed it against the two pairs of fang marks. Her hand twitched and I looked up at her face. Her wide, dazed violet eyes were opening slowly and she smiled when she saw me.

"Zero...I'm...glad you're here..." her dazed eyes filled with joy as she cupped her small cold hand around my cheek. I flinched at the temperature of it. She probably didn't have much blood left. "I...I don't think I'm gonna make it..." she didn't seem troubled by this at all.

"You'll be fine..." I responded placidly as I applied more pressure to the wound. She shook her head faintly.

"They've nearly sucked me dry...I'm surprised that I'm still alive..." She told me, her hand trembling as she tried to keep it firmly plastered to my face, as if she didn't want to let go.

"Don't talk. It takes away energy and you have hardly any left." I shook my head and pressed her hand to her side before returning my concentration on my work.

"Zero..." she touched my face again, gently.

"What?" narrow lavender met wide violet. I felt her little fingers twist around my tie and pull my face down to hers. She pressed her forehead to mine gently, and stared down at her, confused.

"Raehime?" I asked, clearly confused.

"I love you.." she shrugged faintly, like it was the most common thing in the world.

"That's nice.. but I'm serious about all the talking...hush..." I pushed my finger to her lips.

"You were...like the brother...I never had..." she continued anyways, the smile on her face soft.

"Hush!" I raised my voice in desperation because her vitals were declining.

"And I wish... I could...spend more time...getting to know you..." her eyes fluttered before closing.

"I swear you'll be fine! Don't worry, just hush!" I'll admit it. I was scared. Fear overcame me like a tital wave. I was losing her, and fast.

"...You were..." her grip got fainter and I grabbed her hand with my free one.

"Please be quiet! I just want you to make it out of this alive! I really need you to save your strength!" I pressed harder on the rag to stop the bleeding.

"...My first real friend..." her breath hitched and my heart jolted. Her hand went limp as she heaved a long sigh, and I waited for her to start breathing again. To my horror, she didn't.

"Raehime...?" I shook her. "Raehime?" I shook her harder. I felt of her neck to check her pulse but there wasn't one. It was over. She had stopped breathing.

I went into shock...my body going rigid, and I began trembling uncontrolably. I felt something wet on my hand and I looked down. It was tears from my face. My hands flew to my cheeks and felt the salinary liquid. I was crying for the first time in so long. This girl. her death had made me cry. An overwhelming feeling swept over me and all I wanted to do at the moment was hold her and cry. So I did. I wrapped my arms around her limp, cold body and held her to me and wept like a small boy.

Everything that ever meant anything to me was gone now. Everything. There was no point in my living. I couldn't stand anymore heartbreak. Sobbing, I pulled my Bloody Rose gun from it's place on the ground, where it had fallen when I ran to Raehime, and pressed it to my temple. I pressed her forehead to mine one last time, and I pulled the trigger.

I jolted awake, sweat covering my body. '_**A dream...**_' relief hit me as I realized, '_**It was just a dream.' **_When my eyes finally focused, I found myself staring into wide violet eyes, concern stamped clearly in them.

_"_Zero...?" she called my name softly almost in a whisper as she ran a hand through my silver hair. Suddenly overcome with emotion, I pounced on the bearer of those beautiful violet orbs.

**Author's Note:**

** Wow at the dramatics in here, huh? XD! I hope you all enjoyed chapter two of Innocence, as dramatic as it was. Please review^^ I'll post chapter three soon! Until then, Crimson out!**

** -Crimson3**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Recap:

_ "I jolted awake, sweat covering my body. '_**A dream**_**...**__' relief hit me as I realized,_ '**It was just a dream.' **_When my eyes finally focused, I found myself staring into wide violet eyes, concern stamped clearly in them. _

_ "Zero...?" she called my name softly almost in a whisper as she ran a hand through my silver hair. Suddenly overcome with emotion, I pounced on the bearer of those beautiful violet orbs._"

Raehime's POV

I had just pulled my pajamas on when I thought I heard a whimper coming from the room where Zero was in. The candle at my beside flickered softly as I turned abruptly to the noise. Curious as to what it was I grabbed the candle in it's little genie-lantern shaped holder and moved closer to the door; pressing my ear to it softly as not to make a sound. I jolted slightly as the noise repeated itself, becoming louder. Concerned, I pushed open the door to find Zero curled up tightly, clutching his pillow so hard that his knuckles were white and his face was contorted in what could only be comprehended as excruciating pain. I rushed immediately to his side, thinking he was having another of those "vampire" attacks where his entire body cramps due to the lack of blood intake. He had only had a few since I had known him and it was because he refused to drink human blood. The blood tablets were barely sufficent for a young vampire, and I admired his commitment to not drinking the blood of humans. Setting my candle down in the middle of the wooden table so that it wouldn't tip over and set the house on fire, I sat on the bed patted his shoulder ackwardly.

"Um...Zero...?" I called to him in a whisper, as I shook him a little, "Zero...? You...You okay?" I waited for a moment, but he didn't answer. Instead another whimper escaped his slightly parted lips. The sound was so heartbreaking, a wave of anguish swept over me momentarily. It sounded like he felt like his insides were being torn out.

To be honest, I hadn't the slightest idea of what to do to soothe my partner. For some reason or another, it occured to me suddenly, that if Zero was awake that he would have restrained himself from making such emotional noises, no matter the pain he felt at that precise moment. He would be far too proud to make those heartbreaking sounds conciously. It was then I realized that he was asleep, and having a terrible nightmare.

Having never had to deal with a situation such as this before, I tried to think back on my childhood, and how my mother and father had treated such situations. Unfortunately, I was unable to remember any account of me having a dream of this magnitude, so I settled for ackwardly running my hand through his short silver locks of hair, hoping in some way that the presence of my hand on his scalp would calm him down.

My heart skipped a beat in surprise when he jolted up suddenly, his lavender eyes fluttering in horror and brimming with tears. He didn't seem to know where he was, and that terrified me even more. Working through the sudden shockwave sent through my body, I reached up slowly and began to run my fingers through his hair again reassuringly. Finally coming to, his eyes began to focus and he looked over at me, meeting my eyelevel. His eyes were bloodshot and so distraught and distressed that sympathy overwhelmed me, and I felt my own eyes tear up.

"Zero...?" I spoke his name softly as I raked his hair between my fingers once more. His eyes suddenly filled with this undescribable emotion that I couldn't place, and the next thing I knew I was pressed firmly against his chest as he held to me silently for dear life. At the sudden contact, my body tensed thoroughly and he buried his face into my neck. I couldn't move, he held me so tight, so I settled for merely wrapping the bottom of my arms around his waist and hoping that he'd snap out of it before he completely crushed my ribcage.

It wasn't long before his hold on me suddenly loosened and he released me as he jumped back so fast that it took me a few seconds to proccess what had just happened. I looked up at him, searching his lavender eyes silently for an explanation for what had just occured. His eyes showed embarrassment, which I could understand. But the one thing that was most prevailent in his eyes was an emotion that surprised me. Relief.

"Raehime...what're you doing in here...?" his voice was a hoarse whisper. He cleared his throat. "You're supposed to be asleep..." He scratched the back of his head and sighed.

"I was worried..." I told him, and then added softly, "Are...Are you okay now?" I noted that my concern was overridding my embarassment. Even so, the heat I could feel rising in my cheeks had not dissappeared. Even in the candle light, I could make out that his ears and the tip of his nose had turned a light shade of pink as well.

"I'm fine..." he muttered as he allowed his hair to cover his eyes, "You don't have to look after me..." His head was now pointed downwards, as if shamefully.

I shook my head at him. "I know...but...I want to...I want to make sure you're okay..." I absent-mindedly toyed with a strand of my long milky white hair. A long silence passed between the two of us as I let him collect his thoughts.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked him, knowing that it was a stupid question. He wouldn't tell me, but I didn't want him thinking I didn't care, because I did. A lot more than he knew.

To be totally honest, I was absoulutely terrified for him. I didn't know what the dream had been about, but I was about one hundred and fifty percent sure that I didnt' want to know if it had bothered Zero this bad.

"No...I'd rather not..." he told me, confirming my suspicions. I sighed softly, as I ran a hand over his smooth, cool, satin sheets. His lavender eyes rose to meet my violet ones. The faint purplish bags under his eyes suggested how tired he was, and the soft candle light didn't help either as it shone off of these soft cracks in Zero's face. I shrugged sleepily at him, knowing that I wouldn't get a single word pertaining to the matter out of him until he was confident enough to say what he was feeling on his own.

"Alright..." I nodded as I stood, reaching for my candle once more, "Are you sure you're okay...?" I asked again again because I wanted to be sure that he wouldn't have to deal with whatever made him that upset again.

"Raehime..." he met my eyes and emphasized his next words, "I'm fine. Go to bed." I smiled softly at him, the hard-headed creature that he was.

"If you're sure..." I nodded at him once more as I opened the door, "Then I'll be off to bed. My first training session is tomorrow. I gotta be rested up."

"Goodnight then..." he told me, as he looked the other direction as if dismissing me.

"Oh...and Zero?" I paused on my way out of the door, and turned to look at him. He returned his attention to me sluggishly.

"Yeah? What is it?" he asked, my candle light glinting off of his lavender irises.

"If you ever feel the need to talk about something...you can come to me..." I told him, and he nodded once to let me know that he understood, and that he would if he ever felt like sharing anything.

"Night then..." I smiled softly, and with that, I walked out of the room leaving him staring at me strangely.

**Author's Note:**

** Hey^^ Sorry this chapter is so short v.v but I when I added the next part to the chapter, it didn't sound right so I decided to save it for Chappy 4. But for those of you who like this story a little bit, I'll be posting chapter 4 on the same day as this one so I hope that that'll make up for it^^So please read and review^^**

**- Crimson3**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Three months had gone by, and I couldn't believe how quickly the time passed. When I had been poor and homeless, time dragged by painfully as if Father Time was trying to torture me.

The day immediately following the night of Zero's wierd dream, as promised I began my training. The first day, we sparred to see how much I remembered and what level my fighting skills were on. It turns out that my knowledge of martial arts wasn't really all that extensive. My first task was to get into shape, so in the mornings I would help Headmaster and Zero move our things back into the school and in the evenings I would jog and work with Headmaster on my martial arts skills. That lasted for about a month, and then Headmaster started working this weird anti-vampire weapon called the Artemis rod. It was a bamboo-like rod that folded up and went into a holster under my skirt. Fighting with it was incredibly tough at first, because to use it, you have to have incredible arm strength. Not only that, but you also have to work on your flexiblity and inner core strength. I learned the hard way that if you swung the Artemis rod too hard, it would bend your body in a direction that it wasn't too happy to go and you would be sore for days afterwards.

About a month and a half ago, Zero had to leave for a vampire hunter mission. We didn't get much information on what tasks he was going to be performing, or his objective, but I'm not that worried about him. It's like I told the Headmaster. He's a big boy and is completely capable of caring for himself, though sometimes I wish he would be a little less reckless. The poor headmaster worries his head off for Zero. Seeing as the boy's entire family were murdered when he was young and his pessimistic outlook, I could understand to an extent why the Headmaster reacts the way he does. The only downside is that I was the one to have to comfort him when he gets depressed when Zero's not around. In a way, Zero's really lucky. Even though Zero pretends to hate it, Cross-sama's way of smothering him with affection every time that the silver-haired boy is around seems to be helping him heal emotionally. Whether he will admit it or not, Zero loves Cross-sama as he would his own father; he just expresses it in his own little way.

To tell the truth, the Headmaster isn't the only one missing Zero. When I came home from the grocery store to find a sullen Cross-sama telling me that Zero had to leave on a mission, and we wouldn't know how long he would be gone, my heart sunk a little too. So the evenings that I usually spent sitting in the grass, and making Zero listen to the most stupid random topics that I could think of, I instead extended my training periods so that I wouldn't miss him so much. I filled my days vigorously training and attacking poor defenseless trees with my Artemis rod and came home so exhausted that I would take a shower and then pass out on my bed, only to wake up early the next morning to do it again.

Then one day, Zero's old vampire hunter teacher, Toga Yogari, was sent in by the Vampire Hunter Organizaton to help oversee my training. At first when the Headmaster described him, I thought that he would be one of those fluffy old men, like my old trainer was. Retired and relaxed, but still skilled enough to kill a regular level E at any moment that it was nessasary. I learned quickly that that wasn't the case at all.

-Flashback-

_ I sat at the dark wood table in the Headmaster's office excitedly staring out the window in anticipation. Cross-sama told me that today I would be meeting a vampire hunter sent from the Hunter society to oversee my training. I was completely estatic. It had been forever since I had met another vampire hunter that wasn't Zero or Cross-sama. Not that they were particularly boring or anything, it was just that I really enjoyed getting the chance to meet others like me. Suddenly from the corner of my eye I saw this black sports car with severely tinted windows drive up to the front of our building. _

_ "Cross-sama! Cross-sama!" I called out to him, "A black car just pulled up." Cross-sama came out from behind the wall that separates the expansive dining room from the kitchen as he wiped his hands on his pink "Kiss the Cook" apron with frills and kiss marks on it. I still couldn't get over the sight of that apron on him. He was a renouned vampire hunter wearing a pink frilly apron._

_ "Ah, that's probably Toga!" he smiled at me, "You should go greet him at the door." His voice pointed out to me that he was very eager for me to get out of the ten mile radius of his kitchen and I didn't really blame him after what had happened today. Needless to say, I am not a cooking lady and should probably never touch a pan again unless it's to clean it. My pie that Cross-sama had so delicately tried to teach me to cook exploded with the force of a grenade. I'm still not sure how it happened, but after that, I will never be allowed in the kitchen again._

_ Upon Cross-sama's suggestion, I leapt happily to my feet and bounded down two flights of stairs to meet Yogari-sensei at the door. Luckily with all my training that I had been doing lately I wasn't even out of breath when I reached the door. As soon as my fingers brushed the door handle, the doorbell rang. Startled, I jerked the door open with a lot of force, slamming it into a coat rack and toppling it over. Immediate embarrasement swept over my features as I smiled quickly at the man without actually glancing at him and ran to right the tipped over coat rack. I heard his footsteps as he entered the room before the smell of a lit cigarette hit me like a sack of rocks. Immediately I was sent into a coughing fit as I had always been allergic to cigarette smoke._

_ "Yo. You okay, kid?" he asked me in a gruff voice. I shook my head as tears came to my eyes, I was coughing so hard._

_ "Toga! You put that cigarette out right away!" my savior, Cross-sama bounded down the stairs and jerked the insulting tobacco wrap out of the guys hands, before throwing it outside, "She's obviously allergic!" _

_ This was bad. I hadn't even got a good look at the guy before I nearly choked to death. That was going to make me seem fragile, which in the vampire hunter world, wasn't a good thing. _

_ "Nice to see you too, Cross..." he nodded in his direction before huffing with disgust, "And take that damn apron off. The hunters are going to think you've gone queer..." With an insulted look on his face, Cross-sama did what he was told while mumbling a "Well for your information this apron is quite comfortable...". I laughed and finally looked up to see the man who was to oversee my training._

_ He was very tall. Taller than Zero even. That was the first thing I noticed. He had long shoulder length curly brown hair covered up partly by a worn, tan cowboy hat. An eye patch covered his left eye and it was covered by his long curly locks. He wore a loose button-up shirt with a long trench coat over it, and some dark but very worn in jeans. Brown leather cowboy boots that looked older than me and worn to the point where they should have been thrown away years ago completed his modern-day cowboy look. His visable eye was a pretty sapphire blue though. He had that going for him, at least._

_ "Hey kid, sorry for trying to kill you." he nodded at me as he replaced the cigarette that had been in his mouth with a toothpick._

_ "No problem." I beamed at him, my long ponytail bounced against my back as I eagerly thrust my hand foward for him to shake, "Im Raehime Kaguya." He tilted his head foward in acknowledgement as he reached for my hand._

_ "And I'm Toga Yogari, as you know." he shook my hand but didn't let go. Before I could be confused as to why he didn't let go, my entire world shifted and the next thing I knew I was on my back in pain. It took me a second to realize that he had taken my hand and thrown me over his shoulder onto the ground like a tissue. I groaned before sitting up and glaring at him._

_ "Why the hell did you do that?" I growled at him as I forced myself not to rub my aching spine. He squatted down in front of me with a grin._

_ "Lesson number one, kiddo. Always be on guard. I don't train no little girls. If you're gonna train with me, you're gonna have to be a hell of a lot tougher than what I just saw." he told me before standing up and walking over to Cross-sama. _

_ "Yo Cross. I thought that you said that she was strong..." Yogari commented to him, "She don't seem like nothin more than a prissy lady to me." Outraged I jumped to my feet in a second. How dare he tell me that I was nothing more than a little girl? _

_ "Now, Toga. That was just rude. Raehime was trying to be hospitable..." Cross-sama scolded him as I approached. Faster than I could process my thoughts, I stepped between Cross-sama and Yogari and sent a punch to his jaw that was fueled by the rage of hell I had stirring within me at the moment. Yogari was sent sprawling to the ground a good three feet away. The headmaster yelped a surprised, "Raehime!", but I ignored him and strode over to Yogari's sprawled position and stared down at him. _

_ "Alright, Yogari...Listen up. I don't appreciate being insulted by the likes of you. So if you wouldn't mind treating me with a little respect it would be greatly appreciated. Otherwise, the next few weeks are going to be hell on the both of us." With that said, I outstreched my hand to him with both of my feet planted firmly on the ground in case he decided to throw me over again. He took my hand and pulled himself up. I was tensed and ready for him to try to throw me again, but to my surprise he just grinned and let go. _

_ "Lesson one learned, Kiddo. I suppose you ain't so bad after all..." he nodded as he walked to the door, "So...You ready to get your training started?"_

-end flashback-

In the days after that, Yogari treated me with a lot of respect. After I hung around him for a while I noticed that he had a gruff and tough attitude, but he could actually also be very kind. It was obvious that he has a severely tender spot in his heart for Zero. When we would take a break, he would tell me stories of when Zero was young, and he also told me about his brother Ichiru and I was shocked to find out that Ichiru hadn't died when Zero's parent's did. Ichiru actually joined the vampire that had killed their family and turned Zero into a vampire and was killed only about a few of years ago by a pureblood vampire named Rido and had died in Zero's arms. That particular part of the story had made Zero's sad past even worse. Though the talks we had about the Kiryu family were extremely helpful in mapping out Zero's introverted behavior, it only made me miss him that much more.

A few more weeks passed and then one day Headmaster got a letter in the mail from Zero, informing us that he was coming home soon. With great excitement and a really wierd happy dance, we decided that we would cook him a welcome home dinner to celebrate his return.

"Don't burn it, Raehime-chan!" the headmaster ran around taking pots off the stove as franticly as he could; burning himself along the way.

"Oh... my bad...I forgot about it..." I shrugged and scratched my head sheepishly. Here I was, finally allowed back into the kitchen this week, and I was already messing things up.

"It's fine...it's not burned...Thank God! I don't think that I could handle another burned dinner." Headmaster sighed, running his fingers through his long pigtails.

"Sorry, Headmaster..." I told him sincerely, "But I can't help it that I suck at cooking...it's just not my thing. You know this already. For God's sake, I exploded a pie and burned water!" I threw my hands up in frustration and ended up getting chilli sauce on my clean white apron. "Dangit..." I muttered as I tried to wipe it off. It turns out, chilli stains clothing.

"And why have you started calling me headmaster?" he said, his vein practically poking out of his skin, then he smiled, "I prefer Cross-sama or Daddy even!" I rolled my eyes in exasperation.

"If I call you Daddy, I might die..." I groaned as I gave up on the damned chilli stain.

"Aww...why...?" he pouted at me like a little kid.

"Because you would glomp me every time I said it and I would die of suffocation." I told him matter of factly.

"Aww...Zero calls me that...That must be where you picked it up from. You used to love Daddy so much!" Headmaster crossed his arms and continued to pout at me. We were so busy arguing about the name thing that we didn't hear the door creak open or the footsteps at the end of the stairs.

"So what did she pick up from me?" a familiar voice said from behind me. My eyes widened and I turned around abruptly to see an amused Zero leaning against the archway with his arms crossed, staring at us. Unadulterated joy swept over my entire body as a huge grin spread over my face.

"ZERO!" I jerked my apron off before running over to him, standing on my tiptoes and throwing my arms around his pale, tattoo-marked neck. He grunted as I nearly threw him off balance and chuckled softly. I kept my tight embrace on his neck and pulled my head back with a grin. "Welcome Home!"

"Hey there, Squirt." he ruffled my hair affectionately, something that was entirely unexpected. But seeing how happy I was that he was home, I let the Squirt bit slide. I had barely slipped my arms from around his neck before the headmaster had glomped him.

"Oh, Kiryu-kun! Daddy has missed you so much! You should write Daddy letters when you leave him for so long! Daddy looooves yoooouuuuu!" Zero patted his back ackwardly.

"Nice to see you too, Headmaster..." he smiled before the Headmaster jerked back and released him.

"You! You've taught Raehime to call me Headmaster instead of Daddy..." Headmaster glared at him with fake tears brimming in the corner of his eyes, "Oh! How could you?" The Headmaster threw his head back dramaticly and Zero chuckled again.

"Is that right?" Zero looked down at me with a smirk then ruffled my hair, again, "Good job." I grinned proudly as the Headmaster glared.

"No, Kiryu!" the Headmaster pointed a finger at him, "We have to be consistent with her! She has to call me Daddy!" Zero's eye twitched a bit, but he just shook his head as I laughed.

"So did you miss us?" I asked him as I took his coat from him.

"How could I miss this chaotic mess?" he grinned slightly, "But I suppose it is nice to be home."

"So, would you like to sit down and eat with us? Daddy and Raehime cooked you a wonderful dinner to celebrate your homecoming!" Headmaster pointed to all the food laid out on the table.

"And I exploded a pie!" I added excitedly. He raised a thin white eyebrow.

"H-how did that work out...?" he asked me, his amusement evident in the twitch of his lips.

"The kitchen still smells like pie!" I added in the same voice, earning myself another chuckle, "So would you join us?"

"Sure, but first I have some offical business to take care of." Zero told us, his face transitioning into a serious face, "Aido rode with me up here because he wanted to talk to you, Headmaster, and he wouldn't come in because he wanted me to announce his arrival, which I'm not going to do."

"YES YOU WILL KIRYU! ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY IS, 'PRESENTING, HANABUSA AIDO'. THAT'S IT!" a loud obnoxious, upbeat voice rang from the doorway. Zero winced slightly.

"Yeah...I wasn't exactly thrilled to be his escort, but whatever..." he sighed in a manner that I could tell that meant that whoever was behind that wall was exceedingly annoying.

"Who is Aido?" I asked him. He opened his mouth to answer me when the voice rang from the door again.

"NOW ANNOUNCE MY ARRIVAL, KIRYU!" it called again.

"No..." Zero called back,"I already told you that I wouldn't..."

"Fine...Fine...Sheesh...Some escort you turned out to be..." a boy appeared at the door in an expensive looking calf-length brown jacket. He had wildly styled blond hair, and big sapphire eyes. I could tell, just from looking at his posture and the way he held himself, the he was a spoiled little aristocratic brat. Also upon sight of him, I sensed immediatly that he was a vampire. But since he was with Zero and Zero hadn't killed him yet, I concluded that he must be one of those friendly vampires that Headmaster always talks about.

"I didn't want to be your escort, Aido..." Zero told him matter of factly, "In fact, if it hadn't been for you saving all of those students when the school was attacked, I would tell you just how freaking annoying you are." Aido glared at Zero, obviously insulted.

"Ah! Who is this?" Aido's gaze switched to me before he walked over to where I was standing.

"My name is Raehime Kaguya" I told him as I outstretched my hand for him to shake. He laughed lightly.

"Let me introduce myself properly. I am Hanabusa Aido." He took my outstretched hand with an amazing amount of grace and kissed it, much to my confusion, "But you can call me Idol. All my fangirls do!" I noticed behind Aido, Zero rolled his eyes and mouthed the word "Ego maniac" while I tried not to laugh.

"I'm...sure they do..." I responded lamely trying to be nice. In truth, rich guys like this one only served to tick me off. He stood again and met my eyelevel.

"Dearest Raehime, it's a pleasure to meet you." he released my hand and smiled warmly at me before adding, "But don't fall in love with me. I'll surely break your little heart, for you see, My heart flutters for only one love...And that..." he paused dramaticly, "is my Kaname-sama." I blinked momentarily.

"Isn't Kaname a guy's name...?" I asked bluntly confused. He paused in his dramatic state to blink back at me.

"Why of course it's a guy's name. And he is the most deserving man to bear such an name!" Aido exclaimed, an adoring blush settling over his cheeks. I blinked again.

"Doesn't Kaname mean door?" I asked bluntly once more, and Aido stiffened.

"W-well...y-yes...but..." he trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

"So you're in love with a man...named door...?" I could feel his icy glare on me, sending chills down my spine as he stared at me.

"Well if you want to put it in the lamest terms, yes..." he told me, his arms crossed. Suddenly I felt uncomfortable about this situation and found myself looking for any possible way to get out of this situation.

"Well, Aido-san, It was nice meeting you." I told him with a curt nod before turning to Zero and looping arms with the tall white-haired boy, "But if you'll excuse me, Zero has to...er...help me with my training...and stuff..." I smiled and drug Zero out the back door, waving politely at the vampire boy as I went.

"Goodbye, Aido-san..." He nodded swiftly at me.

"Goodbye, Raehime-chan..." he smiled the turned his attention to the Headmaster.

"Wow...you were sure eager to get out..." Zero said observantly.

"I'm not so comfortable around other vampires yet..." I admitted holding onto his arm tighter as we walked.

"Yeah..I could see that..." he didn't pull his arm back as I has expected him to. I noticed that his posture was more slumped than usual and that his footsteps were sluggish. Suddenly I felt horrible. He had just gotten home from a month and a half mission and here I was dragging him all over Gin's green Hyrule for my own convienience. I winced slightly.

"I'm sorry I dragged you out here...I can tell you're tired...You can go back in if you want," I released his arm and smiled. He shook his head, much to my suprise.

"No...I've had enough of Aido on the way here," he told me as he made his way to a shaded tree, "But I wouldn't mind sitting down, if that's okay with you..." It was more a statement than it was him asking for permission. I nodded and plopped down beside him.

"So how was your mission...?" I asked him as I ran my fingers over the rough blades of grass. He grimanced slightly and I raised an eyebrow.

"Bloody...and long..." he sighed, running his hands through his silver hair, "For once, I haven't been more happy to not hunt vampires for a while." He recounted his entire mission to kill an organized group of level E vampires, to me wearily.

"Wow..." I muttered as he finished, "If it's any consolation, the headmaster and I missed you a lot while you were gone. It was really lonely without you here, believe it or not..." I leaned my head on his sturdy shoulder and sighed.

"Yeah...well..I'm just glad to be home..." he muttered groggily as he laid his head on top of mine. At first I tensed up in surprise, because Zero had always limited the actual amount of physical contact he could take and never reciprocated the actions. I smiled softly to myself. Zero had to be beyond exhausted right now. We sat there for a while in silence, watching the sun set and I began to wonder if my silver-haired companion was okay, he was being so still and quiet.

"Hey...Zero...?" I called out softly to him. When he didn't answer, I snuck a glance at him to find that his eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and soft. I giggled lightly. Zero was asleep. Seeing as I wasn't heartless enough to wake him I moved my head back into the position it was in before I checked on him and sat there. It wasn't long before i felt my eyes grow heavy and I too found myself dozing off in the comfort and warmth of my partner's shoulder.

Normal POV

Unbeknownst to the two, Aido and the Headmaster watched with mixed expressions. While Aido retained a bored expression, the Headmaster smiled softly towards them.

"He's not as depressed, now that he's got his mind off of Yuki..." Headmaster commented softly as he traced a finger softly over a picture of a young reddish-brown headed girl.

"Yeah...another weaker human girl that keeps him occupied..." Aido observed, "Does he have a fetish for weak ditsy females?"

"Aido!" the headmaster scolded him, "We mustn't say things like that! And Raehime is far from being 'ditsy' in anyway. If anything she has more common sense than our poor Zero here." Aido lifted his hands in certain surrender.

"I'm just saying..." the aristocrat mumbled. The ex-vampire hunter sighed audibly.

"Well, I'm glad he's back like before she left. I've really been quite worried..." the headmaster returned his attention to the two sitting under the tree before closing the curtains and turning his attention to Aido.

"Now what is the matter you wished to discuss with me?" the older blonde man asked as he toyed with the fur on his robe.

"Ichijo-sama asked me to come to this place and ask you to what to do about the council positions now that Kaname-sama has gone off and eloped with Yuki-sama." Aido replied pushing his hands roughly in his pockets.

"I was thinking that Ichijo-san would take his place, seeing as he was the vice president." Headmaster shrugged.

"Well, that seems plausible..." Aido nodded in approval.

"Good..." Headmaster nodded placing a book on the shelf, "Then that takes care of that. Is there anything else?"

"Not really..." Aido shook his head before pausing, "Except that Ichijo-san is worried about the new diciplinary comittee member." Headmaster's eyes snapped to Aido's.

"What's there to worry about?" he tilted his head, "Raehime is quite capable..."

"Well...It looks to me like she's entirely too playful to be gentle when it comes to fighting..." the boy told the older man, matter of factly, "Kiryu was even scary as a kid."

"She punched renoun vampire hunter, Toga Yogari in the jaw and sent him sprawling on his rear end.." Headmaster pointed out, bluntly, "I think she is more than able to defend herself and the students of this school" Aido's eyes widened.

"Yes...W-well, that may be the case, but Ichijo-san wants to test her...We've already decided how that we would carry out her testing, but he wanted me to run it by you first..." Aido countered in a serious tone, very unlike his usual bouncy one.

"Well then, what is it?" the elder leaned in, facinated by this.

"Well, I think we should send a vampire in, protected by the Kusenagi spell while she's alone. Inform Zero of this so he isn't tempted to come to the rescue. We will be watching nearby to monitor her reaction." he explained, as he twiddled his thumbs like a dectective in those old black and white movies.

"She wont be harmed during this, will she?" Headmaster raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe a cut or two if neccasary. Nothing fatal. That I can promise you..." Aido tilted his head foward in agreement.

"Excellent!" the headmaster seemed excited to test his student, "When will this take place?"

"Tomorrow night..." Aido informed him, "I will need her to be alone and preferably outside, so maybe get Zero to ask her to wait for him at a certian time outside, and then promptly inform us of the time and location." The headmaster nodded in agreement.

"Good, then. I'll inform Kiryu." Headmaster smiled as he patted Aido's shoulder.

"I suppose I'll be on my way then...Tomorrow. Don't forget." Aido waved as he walked out the door.

"Goodbye Hanabusa-san!" Headmaster waved back as he opened the curtains to check on Raehime and Zero. His blonde eyebrows drew together immediately upon sighting them. The two had fallen asleep under one of the cherry blossom trees.

"Oh Dear..." Headmaster mumbled to himself, a small smile creeping up on his lips as he looked on, "I suppose I should go wake them." With this said he bounded off to bring the two inside.

**Author's Note:**

** Well I hope you have enjoyed this reeeeaaaaallllly long chapter of innocence. I hope that it will make up for how short my chapter three was. So for the ones of you that enjoy this story, thankyou for your positive feedback and I hope that you will continue to enjoy Innocence, and for those of you who find fault in this story I'm completely open to constructive critism^^See you again at chapter 5!**

**-Crimson3**


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